Sealing the Deal (2 page)

It wasn’t until his touch stilled her movements that she realized she’d been trembling.

* * *

Bethany kept a wary eye on Emma throughout the dinner in the church social hall. All of Tiffany’s friends were pretty much ignoring Emma, which wasn’t a shock. From the time she turned fifteen, Tiffany had been wild—living for the moment and spending her time with people who shunned responsibility. She’d used alcohol, taken drugs, and slept with pretty much anyone. The only reason she had a high school diploma was because Beth had tutored her through her toughest classes.

Although Tiffany had spent time in the local juvenile detention center and the county jail, her first felony arrest sobered her. Up until the judge told her she might be in prison for up to five years, she’d done no more than thirty days in custody. Prison scared the shit out of her. So her lawyer had worked out a deal. If she straightened herself out and joined the army, she’d only be charged with a misdemeanor.

She’d straightened up and enlisted, hoping to go to college one day. Emma was conceived on her mother’s first leave after basic training. Emma’s father—a man Tiffany refused to identify—wanted nothing to do with being a parent. Since she’d been quite content to be a single mother, Tiffany hadn’t even asked for child support.

The problem was that although she’d wanted to be with Emma, she still owed the army time. And that time saw her deployed to Afghanistan.

Beth accepted a drink from Robert. “Thanks. I’m so grateful you’re here.”

He shrugged. “The Ladies have your back. I just thought…” Another shrug, but his dark eyes didn’t leave her.

“It means a lot to me.” She saw her three friends drawing near.

“Ah, speak of the devils,” he quipped.

“Who are you calling a devil?” Dani asked, jostling Robert with her shoulder. As if she could ever move the man. He was nothing but a mountain of muscle, probably from years of constructing homes.

“If the high heel fits…” His wink and the bantering helped Beth relax.

With a grin, Mallory said, “Actually, I think we’re more witches than devils.”

“Yeah,” Juliana agreed with a nod. “But I left my broom back in Cloverleaf.”

“Thank you all for coming.” Fighting strong emotions, Beth tried to give her friends a smile. Judging from the unsettling quiet, she didn’t succeed. “I mean it. Thank you all for—” A shuddering breath slipped out as a few tears spilled over her lashes.

“Robert,” Mallory said, “my husband wants to ask you something.”

He frowned, staring at Beth. “In other words, you women folk wanna be alone?”

“Bingo.”

His hand settled on Beth’s arm. “You okay, B?”

“I’m fine.”

He wiped a tear from her cheek with calloused fingertips.

Funny, but his touch helped her regain control of her emotions. “I’m fine. Really. Thanks.”

“Then if the beautiful Ladies Who Lunch will excuse me…” With a flourish of his hand and a half bow, he walked away.

“What a flirt,” Dani said.

Beth couldn’t let that misconception stand. “Far from it. He’s really very shy.”

“Robert?” Juliana furrowed her brow. “Shy?” She let out a snort. “I’ve never seen that side of him.”

“It’s all bravado,” Beth insisted. “He stuttered when he was little. Took him a long time to be able to talk to people. His parents were immigrants from somewhere in the Czech Republic, and he used to speak with an accent.”
Poor kid.
An accent and a stutter. Growing up must have been rough.

Dani’s quizzical stare made Beth uncomfortable. Her best friend knew her far too well, sometimes better than Beth knew herself.

A hot flush spread over Beth’s cheeks. “We talked a lot when we were working on one of the houses.”

“Beth?” Dani asked. “I was always teasing when I said you had a thing for him, but now? Now I’m not so sure. After all these years, are you falling for our Robert?”

It
had
been years—nine to be exact—since Beth had walked into Douglas High as a new teacher. At the time, all of the Ladies and Robert were teaching there. The women became fast friends while sharing their lives every day at lunch, often pulling strings and calling in favors to be sure they shared the same lunch period. Those precious moments had built a friendship strong enough to weather any changes, even Juliana leaving teaching to become a Realtor.

The name of their group came from one of the women’s Chicago excursions to shop and see plays. After watching
Company
, they’d adopted one of the song titles. From that time on, everyone called them the Ladies Who Lunch.

Robert had taught industrial technology. Beth had gotten to know him through spending time on school committees, chaperoning dances, and chatting in the corridor almost every passing period. He had a quick sense of humor and a heart he tried to hide. Then his side business of building custom homes had taken off, and like Juliana, he’d sought greener pastures.

Beth had missed seeing him, even stopping by one of his open houses just to talk to him. The place was nice but poorly staged. After she made a few friendly suggestions, he’d insisted she become his decorator. Since HGTV was her favorite network, she’d loved the new challenge. She’d also quickly discovered they made a good pair. At least when working together.

He’d never once hinted that he wanted anything from her beyond friendship. The women he dated explained his lack of interest. They were all tall. And thin.

Beth would always be a size fourteen—probably a good four sizes above anything he’d ever find attractive.

“He’s my boss,” she reminded Dani. “Besides”—she quickly found Emma in the dwindling crowd—“I’ve got other things to worry about now.”

“Like your niece,” Dani said. “Have you and your parents talked about what’s gonna happen to Emma now?”

“Aren’t they keeping her?” Juliana asked. “I mean, they had her while Tiffany was in Afghanistan, right?”

Beth nodded. “But having her there was already getting to be a problem. They were going to send her to me for the summer, maybe longer.” Something she’d been looking forward to, loving the idea of coming home to a friendly face instead of an empty apartment.

“You said their condo’s in a fifty-five-and-over community,” Juliana commented. “If they want Emma to live with them permanently, they’ll have to move. Not that a retirement community is a good place for a kid, even for a short time.”

“Yeah,” Mallory added. “Definitely not kid-friendly. No playgrounds. No libraries. No other children.”

Dani shot Beth a fierce frown. “And then there’s Carol filling her head with the same nonsense she gave you.”

“I know, I know. You’ve all got a point.” Beth heaved a sigh. The choice was obvious to her if not to her friends—just as obvious as it had been when she’d made up her mind last night. “I’m taking Emma.”

“For how long?” Dani asked.

“Forever.”

“Aren’t you worried about your job?” Dani immediately asked. Her sympathetic tone grated Beth’s already frayed nerves.

“Lots of single moms are teachers,” Beth replied, trying to keep the irritation out of her voice. She needed to think good thoughts to help her make this scary leap. “I’ll just have to adjust. Emma needs me.”
And I need to do this for Tiffany. For myself.

“I’m sorry, Beth,” Dani offered. “I didn’t mean to sound so angry. I’m just worried about you. You’re right. Emma needs you.”

“It’s the only solution.” Something Beth had decided in those wee hours of the morning as she’d held Emma and fretted about the child’s future—and her own. The soldier who brought back Tiffany’s body also provided the family with documents she’d filed with the army. Tiffany had requested that Beth raise Emma. How could she not honor that wish?

Sleep had eluded her, and she’d spent most of the night lost in thought. She’d brought back memories of Tiffany. Some good, some not so good. Every now and then, Emma stirred, and Beth soothed her back to sleep by rubbing her back and humming softly the same way she’d soothed away Tiffany’s nightmares when they were children.

She’d stroked the baby’s soft curls, breathed in her sweet scent, and realized that Emma represented her future. That beautiful little girl was all Beth had left of Tiffany. She’d hold on tight and never let go.

“We’ll be here to help,” Mallory said with a nod. “My stepdaughter would love to babysit.”

“I’ve got tons of baby stuff to share,” Jules added. “Two of everything, in fact.” She winked. “Anything Craig and Carter outgrow is yours. What is Emma? Eight months?”

“Nine.”

“Perfect. She’ll have lots to choose from.”

Although she’d known the Ladies would support her, Beth fought tears at the generosity of her friends. “Thank you.”

Robert came back, carrying a babbling Emma, who’d been passed to him by her grandmother. She seemed fascinated with his tie, and judging from the stranglehold she had on it, she was close to choking him.

“Here’s Aunt Beth,” he said, trying to get the baby’s chubby fingers to let go of his tie.

“Is that what she’ll call you?” Jules asked. “I mean, she’s not likely to remember Tiffany. Shouldn’t you be Mommy to her now?”

“I… I don’t know,” Beth replied. “I hadn’t even thought about it.”

“Mommy?” Robert shifted Emma to his other hip, where she began to contentedly toy with his shirt buttons. “You’re taking her permanently?”

“Yeah. My parents can’t. Besides, she needs stability right now. Mom and Dad would have to move and—”

“You don’t have to explain it to me,” he said with a lopsided smile that charmed her. “I know you well enough that I’d already figured you’d be bringing her home with you.” After giving Emma’s nose a quick tweak, he passed her to Beth. “Need any help getting her stuff home? That car of yours doesn’t hold much.”

Beth gave him a playful elbow in the ribs. “Hey! I like my Beetle. But no thanks on the help. She doesn’t have much anyway. Just what Mom and Dad brought with them from Florida. I suppose there’s more in Tiffany’s apartment.”

Sweet Lord, there was so much she’d have to do in the days to come to wrap up her sister’s life. The apartment needed to be cleared out. All of Tiffany’s things had to be sorted and a decision made about what to do with them.

How difficult would that be? Beth had spent so much time with Tiffany before her deployment. Every corner of that apartment would hold a memory of time she’d spent with her sister before Emma was born. They’d both been so busy—Tiffany with Emma and Beth with school—that they’d seen less and less of each other. Then came the deployment.

Not only would Beth have to deal with the things her sister left behind, but Tiffany’s money would have to be handled carefully to ensure Emma had all she needed, including a college education.

Feeling a bit overwhelmed, Beth bit hard on her lip to keep quiet. If there wasn’t something good to say about a situation, better to stay silent. And better to keep from crying in front of everyone. She’d learned that lesson well as a child. Carol always taught her girls to keep their feelings to themselves, that showing emotions simply wasn’t acceptable.

Sniff back those tears; swallow that anger
.

“If you need help with anything, we’re here for you,” Mallory said, watching her warily.

Beth nodded and tried to find her voice again. “M-Mom and Dad can help.”

“So can we,” Jules added.

Robert drew closer and tousled Emma’s curls. “Me too. I’ll be there for anything you need.”

“Thank you all.” Beth kissed Emma’s cheek, setting the baby to giggling.

The sound filled Beth’s heart with joy.

This was the right choice, being a mother to this beautiful little girl. No matter how difficult it became, she would see this through.

“Well, then.” He set his hand on Beth’s shoulder. “I’ll see you at the model home Saturday? Or is that too soon?”

“It’s fine,” Beth replied. “See you then, Robert.”

He’d gone only a few steps before turning back. “You sure you don’t need me?”

What she needed Robert couldn’t give her—a strong man to lean on. No matter how much she wanted
him
to fulfill that role in her life, a desire that seemed to grow each day, she’d never let him know it. If she so much as hinted that she needed him, he’d bend over backward to be there for her.

But not as anything more than a friend, and she sure as spit didn’t want him to feel obligated to be with her just because of Emma. Besides, in all the years they’d been friends, he’d never once even hinted that he wanted something more.

“No, but thanks, Robert. Have a safe drive home.”

“You too.”

Chapter Two

Beth pulled her blue Beetle into the carport at her apartment complex. She would’ve breathed a sigh of relief if she hadn’t been so exhausted. What she wanted was a glass of merlot, a hot bath, and to sleep for the next twelve hours.

She’d probably get none of those things. In the three days it had taken her and her parents to handle Tiffany’s affairs, Beth probably hadn’t slept more than six total hours. There had simply been too much to do, and Emma demanded a lot of attention, something Beth provided while her parents acted relieved to let her shoulder the caretaker role.

Emma had cried the whole trip back to Cloverleaf. It was only eighty miles, but after four stops, the journey lasted more than three hours.

What had happened to the quiet, shy baby? Did she miss her mother? Her grandparents? All she did was cry or sleep.

“We’re home, sweetie,” Beth said in a singsong voice.

Emma’s only response was a babble, which was much better than her earlier screaming.

Shouldn’t she know a few words by now?

She should’ve found a way to spend more time with Tiffany after Emma was born. There’d always been something keeping her in Cloverleaf. A school activity. Proctoring the SATs. A weekend excursion with the Ladies Who Lunch.

Beth found herself a stranger to her own niece, a baby who now depended on her aunt to raise her. When she got the chance, she’d have to get her butt online and educate herself quickly on how to be a good parent.